Accountability Over Viewability; Twitter Adds App Retargeting

Responding to Google’s benchmark viewability data, Dentsu Aegis UK chief executive Tracy de Groose says advertisers are focused on accountability more than viewability. “The shift is not in the viewability of ads; it's increasingly about being able to pay for results, so advertisers don’t need to worry about which bit is seen or not,” de Groose told The Drum. “You only pay for the ads that are tangibly making a difference. I think clients are very aware that this is where we’re moving to. It’s why you’re seeing more ad budgets flowing through digital channels because there’s more accountability.” Read AdExchanger’s coverage Google’s data.

App Retargeting, Twitter Style

Twitter has a new way for advertisers to target ads based on available mobile data (think app installs or in-app purchases). “In app engagement campaigns, you can use tailored audiences from mobile apps to connect with users at specific stages of your app marketing funnel,” the company explained in a blog post. “For instance, you can target users who have installed your app but have not yet signed up or made a purchase.” Twitter’s been testing the feature with a handful of brands, including mobile rebate firm Ibotta.

Mozilla Diaries

Darren Herman joined Mozilla one year ago to develop an ad model for the Firefox browser, and it’s been a wild ride. In a Medium post, Herman chronicles his struggles with internal animus to advertising, which peaked in the wake of a presentation at the IAB Leadership Summit, he writes. “Maybe an hour after I walked off stage, the reality of my new role set in to Mozilla. Mozillians, the community, and many users erupted at me, almost like the human immune system reacting with a toxin.” Herman eventually tendered his resignation, but then had a change of heart. Read it.

Brewers Imbibe YouTube Media

Big beer brands are pouring ad spend into YouTube, according to Strike Social. Over the past 12 months, Strike Social counts more than $23 million spent on YouTube spots by leading beer vendors, with Bud Light racking up a whopping 120 million digital views. Budweiser, for its part, earned the highest level of engagement, at 57.2 million earned views on 106 million total views. “Total views are a misleading metric for YouTube performance because they can represent promotion on the part of the brand, not audience engagement,” said Strike Social CEO Patrick McKenna. “Earned views tell you which brand had the most engaging content, and it is audience engagement that drives sales.” Read the press release.

eSports Ads Live

Amazon-owned Twitch will buy e-sports ad agency GoodGame, VentureBeat reported. GoodGame has helped channel more than $10 million to players, teams and tournaments within the e-sports arena, and to date has done so without raising any funding. “This is a nascent space,” Kevin Lin, Twitch chief operating officer, told VentureBeat. “We have hired a sales team and dabbled in content creation. That has worked out well, and we have watched from afar as Alex [Garfield, GoodGame CEO] has grown the business.” Advertisers take note: Something’s brewing in the live gaming ecosystem, and Yahoo’s clearly looking to capitalize on that opportunity.

Plugging More Data Into Facebook

Predictive marketing cloud AgilOne wants to help retailer clients such as The Body Shop and Sports Authority improve their Facebook targeting. The company’s CEO Omer Artun told AdExchanger that clients can now port their segments from AgilOne into the Facebook platform to power more personalized campaigns. AgilOne, which just completed a $25 million Series C round in April, collects a variety of data, including POS, call center data, demographic, geographic and in-app mobile behavior, and stitches it together. Read more.